ISSN 2319-2593 IISUniv.J.S.Sc. Vol.3(1), 52-63 (2014) The Political Challenges for Free and Fair Elections in Bangladesh Nurul Momen and Marzina Begum Abstract There is a perception among the political scientists that a free and fair election is the keystone of good governance. People in Bangladesh expected that the democratic journey in 1991 would bring significant qualitative political changes, but the new democracy has not brought any changes to the lives of the people. Therefore, this article examines the case of Bangladesh and explores about how political issues challenge a free and fair election. Although, elections provide a test of the political system in a country, but political environment in Bangladesh is a threat to the credibility of electoral process. However, every research requires methodology to execute the study. In doing so, both historical and empirical data was used. In the findings, the research found that the current political environment negatively affects to ensure a free and fair election in Bangladesh. This study examines free and fair parliamentary elections by engaging in political analysis of the so-called democracy in Bangladesh. This study mainly focused on political challenges from 1991 to 2012 in the area of parliamentary elections, since the country started their democratic journey from 1991. Keywords: Awami League (AL), Bangladesh, Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), Free and Fair Elections. Introduction Democracy was likely to take root when Bangladesh emerged from a long period of military government in December 1990. Bangladesh is still struggling to foster a democratic political environment due to an intense political conflict over the rules of the political game. It has been noted that parliamentary elections in Bangladesh have been obstructed politically. This article tries to assess how turmoil in political environment can negatively affect free and fair elections in the country. Hypothesis With the purpose of setting a consistent direction for the study, the following hypothesis will be tested; the extent of ensuring free and fair elections depends on the degree of commitment and the competence of political environment. Source of Data The data was collected from both primary and secondary sources. Silverman (2006) observes that it is very crucial for social science research to explain the criteria for the selection process of the respondents. In the present study selection 52 Momen & Begum 2014 of participants (n=15) for the interview was determined on the relevance of their contribution to the understanding of the research problem. For conducting a case study research, interview serves as an important and relevant source of information. The respondents were from the professional groups in the field on elections so that the researcher can generalize the findings. Prominent personalities from different walks of life were invited for interview. Participants included bureaucrats, social activists, leaders of different social movement, top level/retired professional and other high ranking people of policy making level. On the other hand, the secondary sources of data were largely from documents on free and fair elections in Bangladesh. Conceptual Analysis on Free and Fair Elections Beetham (1994) argues that an important principle can be assumed to have good governance; free and fair elections. Elections have always been deemed important in the democratic system. It has been noted that election is the main guarantee against oppressive governments. In this context, American founding fathers saw the elections as an essential protection against oppressive rulers, and against tyranny. Therefore, in the Declaration of Independence of America it was argued as a ‘self-evident’ ‘truth’ that government derived “their just powers from the consent of the governed”. Nepali political scientist, Dahal (2001) opined that election basically reflects three things; weight of public opinion, consideration of popular interest and broad- based representation of social, economic and political concerns of citizens. Election has other purposes too, for example, selecting political authority, providing legitimacy to government, and making the government accountable to the citizens. Way back in 1795 Thomas Paine in his dissertation on the principles of government argued that there are only two ‘primary divisions’ of government. It is the government by election and representation. Paine (1795, cited by Basnet 2007) holds that “the right of voting for representatives are the primary right by which other rights are protected” and argues the system of representation as the key of good governance. There are serious failures in the conduct of a free and fair election in many countries. Instances of such failed elections are conducted in Asia, Africa, Middle East, and even some European countries as well as Russia. These elections are sometimes heavily rigged. This is known to be one of the causes of intra-states conflicts in Africa primarily due to weak election institutions. On the other hand, it is observed by Aliyu (2009), that in the case of China, elections are not faulted on the basis of rigging, but rather electorates complain about the lack of alternatives regarding representatives. Thus, due to its electoral process, China is regarded as a non democratic country by Europe and US. The results of the election should accurately reflect the wishes of the voters. Despite increased international pressure, and the presence of election monitors during the election processes, many nations fall into chaos after the election results are released. In some situations, despite the reports of the international election 53 IISUniv.J.S.Sc. Vol.3(1), 52-63 (2014) observers that the election was free and fair, citizens take to the street, opposition revolts, and violence begins. Therefore, Sue (2001) argues that the goal of elections is to have an open and competitive process that allows voters to voice an issue or choose a representative. Elections require a multitude of actors and issues whose interplay is important in holding free and fair election. Sue (2001) further pointed out certain essential elements for the conduction of free and fair elections; An equitable and fair electoral framework; a professional neutral and transparent election administration; a generally accepted code of ethical behavior in political and press freedom; accountability of all participants; integrity safeguard mechanism and the enforcement of the election laws and other relevant laws. However, it is claimed that democratic nature of elections is measured by the extent to which they are free and fair. Hence, free and fair elections have implications for political stability. Therefore, it is argued that a free and fair election is critically important for the institutionalization of good governance in any country. In a democratic country, every citizen has an equal right to freely choose his or her representative through an election. Therefore, a free and fair election is the best means by which political parties and leaders govern people and make the government accountable to them. Political Challenges of Free and Fair Elections in Bangladesh As observed from Freedom House (2008), citizens can expect elections to be relatively regular, and they should be necessarily free and fair. There have been certain identified political problems regarding a free and fair election in Bangladesh, some of which are discussed below: Organizing Elections after the Democratic Journey from 1991: The pro-democracy movement in 1990 required institution of a neutral caretaker government. The purpose of caretaker government was to conduct credible elections because there were widespread allegations that the military rulers misused state power to engineer the election outcomes in Bangladesh. A. The 1991 Election under the Caretaker Government (CTG) of Justice Shahabuddin Ahmed: The caretaker government of Justice Shahabuddin Ahmed took some immediate steps to create a political environment for a free and fair election. For example, the EC was reconstituted, three Supreme Court judges were made election commissioners, and the EC was given an operational independence to conduct a free and fair parliamentary election. Elections were held on 27 February, 1991. Fifty five percent of the voters cast their ballots, of which 53 percent were men and 47 percent were women (Jahan, 2008 and Election Commission of Bangladesh website). The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) got a majority of seats in the parliament and Begum Khaleda Zia was sworn in as the prime minister. B. Elections under the BNP Rule (1991-1996): In the beginning of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) rule, there was a conflict between the Awami League 54 Momen & Begum 2014 (AL) and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) in fifteen parliamentary by-elections. There were serious differences of opinion about the election process, when the AL complained that the by-election in Mirpur (an electoral constituency in Bangladesh) was rigged by the BNP government. Therefore, the opposition political parties started a nationwide movement in 1994 demanding the institution of a non-partisan caretaker government to organize the next parliamentary election. Instead of opening a dialogue with the opposition parties, the BNP rejected the demand for a non-partisan caretaker government. The opposition parties started a boycott in the parliament backed by a series of protest activities including hartals (political strikes),